Armando and Yendra meeting to get the message and the design just right. :)

Over a year in the making, this design by the awe-inspiring Greeley-local Armando Silva came right on time! Armando is a Mexican-born first generation immigrant raised in Greeley from the age of 5. He incorporates his Latin roots into his art and uses it as a tool to empower and motivate. Our collaborative design makes it debut for the annual observance of the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos.

The commemoration of the Day of the Dead is to remember ancestors, tell stories of them, and celebrate who they were.

On a good year all you can see are wildflowers around the hives.

This year, we suffered our worst losses yetwith a record 15 hive loss. These losses were mostly out of our control. The year started with a warm, dry spring. It called the bees out with warm weather but taunted them no food. Over the summer, we suffered multiple hailstorms with golfball-sized hail that decimated the flowers around our hives. This, along with normal environmental attacks of neighboring pesticides, wax moths, mites, and colony collapse hit our hives especially hard.

This fall is bittersweet; we are heading into winter with a small crew and fear of what next year’s weather will bring. This is why this design comes at just the right time. We pause to mourn our bees we have lost this season and in seasons past. We hope for a better future that we may not see in our lifetime.

Armando’s art captures visually what we want you to understand. The position of the bee in the chest of the beekeeper is there because our bees are a part of us. We are committed to them and our existence is connected to theirs. At times, we feel that all we can do is take care of them the best we are able, but we cannot promise them a better year next year or even a decade from now. A part of the tradition of the Day of the Dead that speaks to our hearts is that as long as you celebrate and remember your ancestors you keep them alive.

For us, this art commemorates our commitment to be keepers of the bees and to tell their story. Our hope is that as long as we tell their story we help to keep them alive in the here and now.

We worked the Greeley Winter Market this past Saturday. We always love going to the Greeley markets because the patrons believe in Greeley and are excited about what we are doing. We usually end the day feeling inspired, excited and encouraged to continue to work and create and be.

What we didn’t expect about the Winter Market was that the venue itself would inspire us.

The Greeley Winter Market is held at the Garage Co-op on 1100 8th Avenue. The space pulls you into the artistic process. There are over a dozen artist’s rented studio spaces. We watched a college student begin her painting. She shared with us the piece she was working on and (bonus!) she taught us about an unknown feature in software we already use.

About halfway through the market a group of sleepy-eyed individuals began stretching and dancing ballet right next to us.

Lastly, at the entrance there was a coffee bar called KeyNote Coffee. And it wasn’t ordinary coffee. It is, as KJ’s refined palate declared, “possibly the best coffee in Greeley.”

Two of our favorite in person connections happened this past week: meeting new supporters and old fans. It is so fun to meet new people each market that follow us online and have now decided to try out our products. We are so grateful that others see the incredible value in bees and want to support them and us.

We also love it when our online customers come to markets and we finally get to meet them! It is rewarding to know you and your feedback to help us serve you even better.

So much of what we love about the other vendors and our supporters at the market is that we get to see their passions, enjoy them and encourage them as they encourage us. This venue took the experience up another notch as our surroundings reminded us of the importance of working in community and inspired us by the joy of being in the presence of artists devoted to their craft.

Click the image below to scroll some of our favorite pictures of the Winter Market :)